A young Bangladeshi-born New Yorker was charged for acting as a pimp of underage girls in New York and Pennsylvania, reports NY Daily News.
Sharekul Islam, 22, was arrested on September 15 in Pennsylvania’s Swatara, by law enforcement officers investigating the odor of marijuana wafting from a car parked outside a motel, according to court papers.
They found Islam and a 14-year-old girl in the vehicle. After interviewing the pair, the officers determined that Islam was “driving her from hotel to hotel for the purpose of engaging in solicitation,” FBI Special Agent Stacy Shahrani stated in a complaint.
Sharekul Islam, centre, leaves Brooklyn Federal Court with his parents
NY Daily NewsNomi Berenson, an assistant US attorney, said he may face a mandatory minimum term of 10 years in prison if he's convicted of the sex trafficking charges, with sentencing guidelines entailing more than twice that.
“These are incredibly serious charges,” Berenson said in Brooklyn Federal Court.
Islam was released on $50,000 bail with an electronic ankle bracelet.
His lawyer Douglas Morris declined to comment.
